BRENTWOOD—Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents the 11th district, said his farewell at the city council meeting at the Kaufman Library on Tuesday, June 5.

Rosendahl joined the political arena at the age of 60 and won a seat to the Los Angeles City Council in May 2005. During his time in office, Rosendahl has promoted mass transit, stopped the expansion of Los Angeles International Airport, which also promoted regional aviation, and sought to resolve the homelessness problem around the city. Rosendahl also promoted the use of medical marijuana, becoming the first sitting elected official to admit to using pot while in office.

He is also the first openly gay official to be elected to the Los Angeles City Council and is a strong advocate for LGBT rights.

Rosendahl said he wanted to work with the eleventh district because he believed all the neighborhoods were connected.

“I thought they had power,” Rosendahl said. “I saw them as a form of expression of democracy.”

He was given a bobble head doll of himself with the message “BCC Loves You" inscribed in it and a framed drawing from the local artist Mary Misono from the Brentwood Community Council.